Season ends mid-January, transitioning to Peru

Ecuador mango fruit being graded harder to assure good quality

Ecuador’s mango season, which will be ending around mid-January, is experiencing fair to good quality fruit. “We are grading the product harder to assure we are shipping good quality mangoes to our customers,” explains Misty Ysasi with Frontera Produce. “As we move into Peru, the quality will improve. The supply is plentiful, volume is good.”

The National Mango Board Crop Report indicates volume shipped from Ecuador was approximately 1,088,224 boxes for a total of 11,191,880 boxes for the season. During the same week last year, volume shipped from Ecuador was approximately 765,600 boxes for a total of 11,862,166 boxes. Once the season is over, Ysasi says they’ll transition to Peru, which starts of with Kents.

The biggest challenge happened in the months of March through May, during the Mexican crop, because volume was down drastically because of the tropical storms that swept through the growing regions in 2016. “The product was limited and the market reflected the shortage.”

Photo: National Mango Board

Compared to last month, prices are very similar. She indicates that volume has stayed the same in 2017 versus 2016, though they are expecting an increase in 2018. “The market has been soft. In 2018, we’ll be collaborating with our sister company in Florida, Continental Fresh, to offer a year-round mango deal to all of our customers.”